


The Dark Swan

by mayawrites95 (mayarox95)



Series: Wish Upon A Star [167]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dark Emma, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 11:32:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6422245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayarox95/pseuds/mayawrites95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma tries to fight the darkness, until she realizes she doesn't want to anymore</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dark Swan

It was so hard to keep the darkness out of her head. Giving in would have been so easy, and there was a part of Emma just begging her to do so. To just let the darkness win. It would mean she wouldn’t have to fight it. Fighting it was hard, and she was just so tired of doing so.

But there was a part of her who was still whispering to keep fighting; to not let Killian, Henry, her parents, and everyone else down. Because the moment she gave in was the moment she would lose everyone closest to her. It was the moment that everything she had gained over the past year and a half would forever be taken from her.

She couldn’t risk that happening. So with every day as they struggled to get closer and closer to Merlin, she kept the darkness at bay. But it was always there, lurking under the shadows, waiting for a moment to resurface. She knew it was dangerous, and she knew the others did too.

It started slowly, with her mother becoming hesitant to let her hold Neal while she was occupied, or her father preventing her from any magic, light or dark. With Regina fingering the dagger unconsciously every time she thought Emma was out of control, despite being perfectly aware of what she was doing, or with Henry being agitated to be alone with her. Killian was one of the few who didn’t change his behaviour. He constantly reassured her night after night, as he held her, but she couldn’t help but feel like he was slowly pulling away.

She tried to convince herself that it was the darkness putting these thoughts inside her; that she was paranoid and that it didn’t mean that any of it was happening. But as every day went on, the behaviour of those around her got worse and worse. The knights barely trusted her, and she could tell Arthur seemed wary as well.

That was until they got to Merlin, and he revealed exactly how to get the darkness out of her. For that to happen, it would take an act of extreme light to overpower the darkness. It would take a great sacrifice; her life.

The only way for the darkness to leave her was for Emma to use the dagger on herself. Once she did, the balance would be restored; the two polar opposite powers in her would neutral out and rid the world of the darkness, but also the pure light forever. There would no longer be any light or dark sides, but grey all around.

And once she did, the dagger would be free to be reunited with Excalibur.

She could feel the great hesitancy from her family once Merlin told them what needed to be done.

Her father had been the first to jump in and say they needed to find another way, while Regina had insisted that there were none.

And Emma was left no choice but to watch in horror as her choices were being debated for her by the people who claimed to love her.

She didn’t have a choice in any of this.

So she took the dagger, and she held it to her chest. It was the only way to ensure everyone she cared for would be safe from her. It was the only way.

 _“Don’t do it_ ,” The darkness in the form of Rumplestilskin said as she held the dagger close to her chest, her hand shaking terribly. _“If you give in, then you seize to exist, Emma. You vanish forever. You will not come back from this. Everyone will move on, without you. Your parents will have their perfect child whom they can raise together, and that child will not be doomed to misery like you were. Regina will have Henry to himself. And Killian will move on. He’ll fall in love with someone else, and love her like he did you. Don’t you see, they don’t need you. They might be putting on an act of trying to figure out what to do, but their choices are clear. They’ve always put the greater good over the well-being of you. They doomed you to that world; to grow up unloved and abused. Do you really think they’ll choose you now? When the stake of everyone, in all the realms, is at stake? They never loved you. And they never will.”_

Emma fell to the ground, crying silently. She wasn’t strong enough. She couldn’t fight it anymore. She may have had a terrible life, but she wasn’t ready to go yet. So she did what she did best; adapted to survive.

When she stood up, she was different, and she could feel the air shift around her in response. She stood up tall, and had a cold look on her face.

“Emma?” she heard Killian ask, but she paid no attention to him. Because she no longer was Emma Swan; no, now she was the Dark Swan, and she had one thought on her mind.

“If you think killing me and ridding yourselves of me will be easy, then you have another thing coming,” Emma said, in an apathetic voice. “No, now we’ll go somewhere where I’m the only one with an advantage. We’re going to go to a place which ruined my life, and there, I will ruin all of yours. But first, I’m going to take your memories so none of you remember any of this. Don’t you worry though, I won’t leave _too_ many of you behind.”

Merlin looked at her with horror on his face. The old wizard was no longer what he used to be, and had he been stronger, he just might have had the power to stop her.

She heard them protest, but she waved her hand. It was her turn for a happy ending.

 


End file.
